


The Bun in the Pod

by ismellitblue



Series: rolling along [4]
Category: Young Justice
Genre: Gen, Kon-el centric, Lex Luthor centric, M/M, Protective Lex Luthor, Superboy centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-15 18:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15419430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: Secrets have a way of always coming out.Lex knew this,when he decided to raise Conner.He just didn't expect the unveiling to be such a disaster.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I blame terrible self-control and too little sleep for this.This fic is a continuation of the previous works in the rolling along series,check them out if you hadn't done so already(trust me-it will make reading this easier). Anyways, on with the show, I absolutely own 100-100 percent of young justice by the way.

 

The alien, with its bulbous head and skin that look rippled and shifted like it had worms beneath it held Jon-El,Lois and Clark’s super brat.

“Feast your eyes on the end of your world…”Goodness,did villains run out of good victory speeches at some point.He leaned back on his chair, watching the news as the alien-Krol- continued to rant.Beside him Conner was on the edge of his seat,eyes wide and clearly worried(definitely not the Luthor side of him showing-they tended to be more of the- _well, that sucks but as long as it’s not happening to me-all is right with the world)._

For the most part, Lex tuned him out,the league would most likey make a last minute save and the reporters would sing praises to their ever righteous, ever reliable and oh so good saviors- _ugh._

Then of course, the creature had go and say the scariest thing Lex had heard in a long time.

“My kind feeds on the life blood of firstborns, the stronger they are, the stronger we become…”

“What sort of lame power is that, wouldn’t it be more effective to be able to suck power from everything?”Conner quipped, but he was still biting his lip and looking extra hard at the screen, like if he kept staring –the JL would pop up.

While Conner was put out by the speech,Lex’s heart rate picked up.

First born?

Surely the alien was kidding?There was no way ,their soul sucking power could tell whether a person was born first or not.If they really could,then…

It was now Lex’s turn to lean forward and stare intently at the screen as the  villain of the day boasted.

_Please let the Justice league come quickly,Please let the boy find the strength to fight back,please let the power not be discriminatory,let it just suck his energy and be done with it,Please,please please, please,ple-_

But of course,none of that happened.

The league was too late.Lex had the pleasure of watching Superman fall apart as he failed to break the barrier the alien had created(not that he could really enjoy the heartbroken look seeing as the last of his hopes was pinned on the alien’s power not being able to tell the difference/or at least taking into account that Jon was Lois’s first born)- but  that didn’t happen.

A second mouth-all huge teeth and acid yellow saliva grew from the creature’s stomach and extended until it was all over the struggling half-kryptonian.The weakend boy threw a few weakened punches,that were-strangely enough-in sync with those of his father, who was making cracks in the barrier, but all too soon he was swallowed, and the alien looked up. smirking at the cameras.

Lex had a whole five seconds of being hopeful., before the purple skinned creature’s smirk fell.Then his eyes widened as his second mouth wrenched itself open and Jon was spit out.

The look of shock on Krol’s face would have been funny-if Lex hadn’t known how much danger it put him and Conner in.With a mighty punch, the barrier finally broke and Superman was all over the alien.

As the fight continued(more like a beatdown), a reporter-Kat-something came on screen, obscuring the view, her eyes alight ,in that way all reporters seemed to have when they sensed a scoop.

“The enemy has been defeated-but it seems, something very interesting has come to light?”

“Superboy, is not Superman’s firstborn.If that’s the case,then who is?”

“Is it just one child, or are there more of the big blue family out there?”

***

“Superboy,do you have an older sibling or siblings?”

“Why have we never seen them?”

For once Lois Lane was quiet, when it came to questioning-but she was giving Superman one heck of an evil eye.The boy scout,looking much too pale stared right at the camera, looking dazed ,it was only the intervention of Batman that allowed him to grab Superboy and get away.But it was clear from the hungry looks ,and the number of phones and cameras out that the story would not be going away soon.

Even worse,the dark knight’s head was tilted in what Lex knew was his thinking pose.  


The league, would most definitely be looking into the matter.

“Wow,talk about drama”Conner said ,when Lex finally switched off the TV.

_You have no idea._

Lex thought as he poured himself a scotch,only stopping after his second glass to stop Conner from noticing his discomfort.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Young Justice.

As a parent, there are things, you don’t ever want your child to know.Things you go to bed _praying_ , and wake up _begging_ that they never find out.

Lex did not regret  raising Conner.He loved him(in the quiet of his mind,with no one there he was comfortable admitting that).

But he still remembered Conner’s origins.

Remembered the cold sharp sting of betrayal,when he’d learnt what his father had done.He remembered putting all the hatred behind a wall, trying to save face, by taking part in the development of what was back then, just a clump of cells.He remembered the second betrayal, that had left Conner fighting for his life, cancer eating away at his tiny body.

But out of all these things,Lex’s memories always focused on the image of a syringe glowing  a venomous green.

In the beginning when Conner’d still been in the hospital.Lex often had nightmares about what he’d nearly done.Waking up in a cold sweat and only calming once he had a tiny hand clutching his index finger.The fragile hand warm and alive-nothing at all like the cold one in his dreams.

Those dreams had gone away with time.But ever since the fact that Superman had another child had been made public.The nightmares had come back with a vengeance.

***

The thing was Conner was never supposed to know.His boy was supposed to have as normal a childhood as Lex could provide him with.

But from the moment Conner hit his teens, Lex had known he was fooling himself.Each day the boy grew to look more and more like Clark.The mannerisms and the eyes,were all Lex, but he was so unmistakably Superman’s son(from his jaw,to that stubborn strand of hair, that could not be tamed-causing Conner to keep his hair short).

 When Conner’s powers had come in,Lex had spent a week panicking. Scared that Conner would start shooting lasers from his eyes and floating all over the place.But that hadn’t happened,all Conner had got was an increase in his overall durability, and power to move anything he touched with just his mind.

A simple-“You’re a mutant”-had been enough to  quell  the boy’s curiosity, and he’d quickly gone back to playing with his ability.

Those were simpler times, times Lex wished he could go back to.But those days were over.

***

At first he’d tried to play it cool.Waiting for the league to tire and stop searching.But six months since the whole thing had begun and they were still searching(to make matters worse,they had started searching in the right direction).

Lex had gotten word that after going through the list of Clark’s past lovers(a very short list indeed), they’d started looking into other avenues(genetic cloning being among them).It also didn’t help matters that Lois Lane wouldn’t let matters rest.She had been harping on about the issue ever since it came to light,making sure no one forgot(how people didn’t realize she was Superman’s wife looking for his illegitimate child was beyond him).

It was all very troubling, but so long as nothing was pointed in Lex’s general direction,he could still find a way to salvage the situation.Put off telling Conner for a while longer and come up with a way to protect him from the backlash if the heroes happened to find out.

He was going through different scenarios in his head, when his phone buzzed.Ignoring it ,he reached for his whiskey and poured himself a glass.Taking a sip, he swiped at his phone-and promptly choked.

***

The news of Superman’s other son hadn’t just been huge to the heroes,the villains were interested too(some wanted to kill the child- _as if_ ,others wanted to turn the child into their henchman- _over his dead body-and even then it still wasn’t happening_ ).The ordinary civilians(more especially teenagers) had also taken to the news.

A lot of them claiming to be Superman’s child.This had spawned a ridiculous trend of kids spotting the House of El symbol posting pictures of themselves online, proclaiming that they were man of steel’s  child.

Lex had ignored their posts.Thankful for them in a way as they served to confuse the search.But clearly that had been a mistake,because staring at him was the face of his son.

His son, whose eyes were somehow Superman’s eerie blue.All strands of red-dyed out of his hair.He wore a torn black t-shirt,the loose part hanging off his chest ,with  plain blue jeans.His ears spotting piercings, that Lex was certain would  heal the instant  he removed the metal.

He tapped the video and it began playing-taking away all thoughts Lex had of salvaging the situation.

“I am _the_ Superboy,”At the end of this statement, Conner lifted up the torn half of his shirt-revealing the House of El symbol.

“Created to replace Superman should he perish,to _destroy_ him,should he turn from the light”He looked into the camera for a few seconds…completely serious…then he burst into laughter-the one time Lex was unhappy to hear the sound(whenever Conner laughed, his eyes had the same warm glint that Superman’s did) .He watched the _glint ,_ feeling his heart drop.

If his programs had picked the video from thousands being posted.There was no way Batman’s codes would miss it(not to mention the video was already a hit, despite having only been up a few minutes).

“Mercy!”He called, already on his feet and headed for the door.

***

Conner made his way to the penthouse, humming under his breath with a bounce in his step.The party had been lit!Definitely better than he’d expected,his ears still stung a bit from removing all the earings he’d put on, and his eyes still felt tingly from redirecting his TTK to it to help with his costume.He’d gotten a few numbers for his troubles, and had promised to call the lovely ladies(though he wouldn’t-they’d had fun with him because they’d thought he was just a normal teenager-if they knew he was Conner Luthor, not Chris Lake, things would get ugly fast).

Letting himself in, he tiptoed, to his room,not wanting to disturb his father and Mercy-he could feel the two of them in his second study-the war room.

His caution seemed to be unnecessary however, the moment he walked past the door ,it opened and Mercy beckoned him in,before giving a small nod as she left.

“Good evening Conner,did you have a pleasant evening”

To anyone else, the question would have sounded friendly, but Conner knew his father well enough to hear the steel behind the calm tone.He was instantly on edge,but he wasn’t sure why he was in trouble,he’d planned to go to this party, and had acquired permission by acing all his tests.

It was his reward.Pass everything ,and he’d be allowed to party with normal teens who weren’t trying to build connections and alliances and using parties as a cover.

Deciding not to beat about the bush(his father could make 20 questions stretch for eternity),he just came out with it.

“Why are you mad?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, I made sure no one knew it was me,no one followed me back”

The rage seemed to bleed out of his dad at that, and he slumped into his chair,looking defeated.

“Come here Conner”

He approached cautiously,wary about the sudden mood change.Seeing his hesitation, his father gently patted the seat beside him, his smile tired,but reassuring.

“I need to tell you something,but I want you to know,no matter what,you’re my boy.None of this changes anything”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own YJ.

It had been two days since Lex had told Conner the truth, and the boy had yet to come out of his room.

On the first day Lex had let him stay cooped up.The boy’s reaction had been relatively tame.Sure, Lex was out of ten very expensive sports cars(they’d all been reduced to scrap metal) and some of the inner walls had needed to be replaced, but that was to be expected(Lex had done worse things when he’d been a teen, at least Conner had a reason to be acting out).

Throughout the second day,Lex kept passing by Conner’s room, but there were no sounds from within(earlier that day Lex had tried to check in on him using the bugs he’d hidden,only to find all of them disabled-they were meta proof-so the kid had to have found them and disabled them manually-why did the kid have to inherit Lex’s smarts?).

When evening of the second day came and Conner was still in there,Lex decided to take action.

He waited quietly while Mercy stood in front of the door, arm raised,there was a single controlled blast and the whole thing fell apart.When the dust cleared, Lex stepped in, a food basket in his hands.

At first glance Conner didn’t appear to be in the room,but Lex knew better,he went to the walk in closet and just as he’d expected the boy was there,curled up beneath the section meant for his suits,staring into space.

Lex went to sit next to him,placing the basket by his knees.For a few moments there was no movement,then Conner’s head dropped and he leaned against Lex’s shoulder.

“Am I a monster?”

“Never”

“But-”

“There are no buts about it, you never have been and never will be a monster,the circumstances of your creation have nothing to do with that, do you understand?”

Conner nodded,still seeming unsure.

“Then why did you hide me from the League,from Superman?”Lex could lie and come up with something on the fly, but after sixteen years of constant lying, he was too tired to even try.

“Conner,the league , Superman included do good things for the most part.They do what  they believe is best for humanity”

“But just like all sentient beings, they come with prejudices of their own.From the moment I took you out of Cadmus,I’ve always seen the good in you.But I feared that instead of seeing _you_ , they’d see a Luthor, and even worse a Luthor with the potential to destroy Superman”

“There was no way they’d let someone with my past have you”

“It was selfish and wrong of me to deny you a chance to know your father, but the thought of losing you scared me more than anything”There were a few other things Lex wanted to say about Clark’s self righteousness , but badmouthing a co-parent was something his own parents had excelled at, and he didn’t want to do that to Conner-when the time came the boy would make up his own mind.

“Can you ever forgive me?”Conner didn’t reply,but he reached for the basket with his TTK and went through it,levitating out a tub of ice cream and two spoons.The other spoon made its way to Lex and he snatched it,Conner sat the tub between them and they began eating.No one talked,but the tension had eased up considerably.

***

“Any progress on finding the boy?”The raspy voice was lower than usual, a dead giveaway to those who knew him well,of just how tired Batman was.

“We’ve got a name, some of the teens who weren’t too drunk to remember say he introduced himself as Chris Lake”Dick tried not to grimace at that, they’d  known  about the boy’s alias,within a matter of days, if the rest of the league had just found that out,things were not looking good.

“We’re thinning the list based on looks now,we’ll find him soon”Green arrow did not seem particularly hopeful despite his statement.Batman didn’t even bother to try and find out more.

He simply turned and left, a grumpy looking Superman beside him.The two of them had been working around the clock to try and find the possible kryptonian, to the point that they’d alienated everyone else-only getting information in  debriefings similar to the one they’d just had.

For Batman,it was a matter of finidng a potential threat and neutralizing it if need be.For Superman it was a matter of survival-Lois Lane was one scary lady.

However it happened,Dick just wanted the ordeal to be over,he wasn’t as stressed over the whole thing because the way he saw it, the kid looked to be a teen.If he was going to go all evil overlord,he’d have done it already when puberty hit.

But no one wanted to hear that,so Dick kept his opinions to himself and helped the Bat family search(it had somehow turned into a competition between them and the rest of the league-Clark excluded of course-with the honor of the Bats being at stake).

Hopefully a new lead came up soon.

***

‘I want to help people”They were remodeling an old car(Lex hadn’t liked Conner traipsing through junkyards at first,then the boy had started hauling home projects, and fixing them had become their go-to bonding activity).

“Conner,you already help people, in case you’ve forgotten you run a few charities, and volunteer at that wolf conservation thing you love so much”He watched as Conner funneled water into the engine and then touched it, using the liquid to feel for any breaks.

“But with my powers, I can save lives”The now dark water exited the engine and Conner moved the ball to a bucket where he let it fall in.

“Conner, you’ve had these powers for years and you’ve never shown any interest in becoming a vigilante,why now?”Lex had an inkling ,but he’d rather hear it from Conner.

“It’s what Superman and Superboy do,…maybe if they see me helping others,they’ll see I’m part of  the family”And there it was.

“But do you want to be doing that?”Conner shrugged, crossing his arms defensively.

“Maybe?”Sighing  at the answer,Lex took a cloth and began wiping the grease from his fingers,clearly this conversation was going to take a while.

***

“…Conner,I’m not against you being a superhero, but even today my greatest fear is that you’ll be taken from me.They might accept you at first ,but as soon as who  you really are comes out,you won’t be safe, and knowing  them they’ll ask you to had yourself in and _trust in the system_ ”

“If you hand yourself over you’ll be screwed and if you refuse you’ll still be screwed-then they’ll use force”Conner took in what he was saying, seeming to realize for the first time just how much he hadn’t considered.

“I will not have you become a lab rat”

“Maybe they won’t find out”

“Conner be serious,the Bats will hound you until they’ve sucked you dry.Batman will probably be vetting our trash”

“Wh-”

“Don’t doubt the depths that Batman will go to solve a case”Conner nodded,but he still seemed skeptical(the blissful cluelessness of youth).

“But what if we put them in a position,where they can’t do anything to me even after they find out about my DNA?”Conner had on the patented Luthor cunning face,and Lex inclined his head,giving Conner his full attention.

…A week later a new hero was roaming the streets of Metropolis.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudo, comment-tell me what you think.Thanks for reading.


End file.
